AFC Bournemouth 2024 Kit Launch: A Shoot at Vitality Stadium

Last summer, we partnered with AFC Bournemouth to deliver striking launch imagery for their 2024/25 home and away kits - a production rooted in atmosphere, precision, and a strong creative vision. The shoot took place at the Vitality Stadium and was brought to life with a blend of high-end lighting design and carefully controlled rigging, allowing us to build two distinct visual identities for each kit.

Home Kit - Immersive, Iconic, and Defined by Light

For the home kit, the concept revolved around creating a heightened, immersive environment using the club’s massive LED volume. The goal was to frame the players in a way that made them feel almost part of the screen - grounded, but with a surreal edge.

At the heart of our lighting setup was an Aputure 1200D, modified with a Light Dome 150 - this acted as our key, providing beautiful, soft directional light from above. For the accents, we used four Aputure 600Ds, each rigged with Aputure 3120 modifiers, to provide hair lights and sculpt depth into the frame. These were positioned on stands around the space to give flexibility without crowding the scene.

The entire lighting setup was networked and controlled remotely via Sidus Link, giving us full creative flexibility without needing to reposition or manually adjust any fixtures. This allowed us to maintain momentum and fine-tune scenes from ground level, achieving the perfect nightclub-inspired look with practical efficiency.

Away Kit – Abstract, Retro, and Full of Attitude

In contrast to the clean futurism of the home kit visuals, the away kit leaned into a more abstract, retro aesthetic - echoing the design language of the kit itself. The aim was to create something unexpected: bold colours, mirrored props, strong shadows, and a nod to classic stylised fashion shoots, all with a gritty, nostalgic edge.

We rigged haze and layered backlight flares to create controlled chaos in the frame. Overhead, we used F22Cs, Amaran T4 tubes, MT Pro tubes, and a P300C to shape the look. For stills, an AD600 strobe with a beauty dish was handheld, while for video we used a 60X with Light Dome Mini, also handheld - allowing for maximum agility on set. All lighting was rigged above like a nightclub setup to avoid stands, enabling us to move freely through the space 360 degrees without anything obstructing the scene. The frame was filled with players to give it energy and realism, and we hid additional practical lights within the environment to introduce subtle pops of colour and enhance the overall atmosphere.

Behind the Scenes – Lighting with Intent

What tied both shoots together was a strong lighting strategy - one that could be adapted to suit the tone of each kit without compromising on flexibility. The ability to control every unit remotely, including all overhead rigging, meant that we could treat the stadium like a studio. Every decision was intentional, and every shot had space to breathe.

Thanks again to AFC Bournemouth for having us involved again!

Concept and Creative - Matt Payne & Chris Payne

Photographer - Amy Maidment

Videography - James Hart & Ryan Pelletrat

Lighting Design, Hire & Gaffa services - The Picture House